Will South Dakota See a White Christmas? Long Range Forecast

UPDATE: 12/20/24 Weather.com has released its forecast, and a fair number of Americans are in for a holiday treat. Wide swaths of the Rockies, Upper Midwest and even the Northeast look to be in good shape. But warmer air will spread across the country early next week, meaning that even places like Chicago and most of South Dakota won't have any white stuff on the ground come Wednesday. As fall gives way to winter in the upper plains, the big question is...will we have a white Christmas?

The National Weather Service of Sioux Falls has this updated forecast from 12/21 - 12/25:

Saturday Sunny, with a high near 28.

Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 19.

Sunday Partly sunny, with a high near 38.

Sunday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24.

Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Tuesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.

Christmas Day Partly sunny, with a high near 37.

Since our local forecasts usually predict weather only 7 to 10 days out, let's look what the Farmer's Almanac says about the upper northern plains through the end of the year. (Includes Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming)

20th - 23rd: Periods of heavy rain, and snow as a series of low-pressure disturbances enter from the east. Bitterly cold temperatures follow.
24th - 27th: Fair, dry, very cold.
28th - 31st: Moisture and energy from the Pacific Northwest brings a renewed threat of snow.

With this model, December looks quite active with snow the week of Christmas and bitterly cold temps to follow. If this forecast holds, we'd better find a nice warm place to nestle in with movies and cocoa on New Year's Eve. I think we'd all be okay with that.

Just to recap the Farmer's Almanac long-range winter forecast released earlier, it calls for cold temperatures with above normal snowfall.

map courtesy of Farmer's Almanac press room.

The Coldest Temperatures in Sioux Falls History

When a polar vortex rolls through Sioux Falls, it can get even the heartiest dreaming of indoor fires, baking, and hot chocolate.

Mr. Bendo is tough enough but for the love of Pete, someone put a scarf on the Statue of David!

All this icy chatter had us wondering about the coldest days ever recorded in Sioux Falls. Here is the historical data from the National Weather Service with the coldest temps ever recorded in Sioux Falls since record-keeping began in 1893.

Gallery Credit: Danny V

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Who Is Ben Reifel And Why Is A Sioux Falls School Named After Him?

Sioux Falls has a new middle school named Ben Reifel Middle School. It just opened for the 2021 fall school year.

If you've traveled the east side of Sioux Falls you've probably noticed the progress in the school's construction. It is located at Faith Ave. on the cites east side just northeast of Harmodon Park off 41st Street.

Sioux Falls' newest middle school bears the name of Benjamin Reifel, also known as Lone Feather. So who is Ben Reifel?

Gallery Credit: Ben Davis